


Bad Luck Day

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen, tw for a panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-26 00:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16208783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Louisa has a bad day. Rebecca belongs to Centeris2.





	Bad Luck Day

Louisa really didn't want to go see Ydris about his mysterious fortunes. She'd gone once, just to see what all the fuss was about. And first of all, she'd felt uncomfortable sitting so close to him inside the tiny fortune teller tent. The tassels decorating the silk walls of the tent looked like a fire hazard, especially when coupled with the many candles that littered the table. And the cards, and Ydris' sleeves. All it would take was one stray breeze blowing in from outside. If any breeze could penetrate this tent, anyway, maybe it existed on a different plane entirely. But then, Ydris had reached into her mind. Immediately, Louisa had frozen at the touch of another mind against hers, the tendrils of magic making her shiver. But not in the good way. It had immediately brought to mind another mind-altering event, when a hallucination had almost made her lose everything. Or at the very least, her mind. And so she'd fled the tent, leaving a confused Ydris in her wake and startled or teasing other girls who'd just assumed that she'd gotten a bad reading.

Rebecca had found her on South Hoof Peninsula, staring out to sea from the safe perch of Goldmist's back.

"He's sorry," Rebecca had said, her voice almost being snatched away by the wind.

"I know," Louisa had said, hugging herself. "It just scared me, that's all. Nobody's been in my mind other than over 200 horses since the golden apple race."

"Ah," said Rebecca, coming to stand Midnightwarrior beside Goldmist. Light and dark, the two horses joined their riders in staring out to sea. "Yeah, I can see how that might change things."

"I wouldn't mind knowing my future, though," said Louisa. "I just... didn't expect it to involve peering into my mind. I thought it'd just be like peering into a crystal ball."

"Well, that's not how it works for him, anyway, apparently," said Rebecca. "But you've got nothing to worry about, honestly. Of course, I might be biased-"

"You are," said Louisa with a laugh.

"But he's not a threat," said Rebecca. "Really. He's on our side in all of this. Or at least, he will be. Once I'm through with him."

"I don't doubt your powers of persuasion," said Louisa. "But are you sure? He won't, y'know..." She looked down at the ground, chewing on her bottom lip. "He won't try to make me fall in love with him, will he?"

"No, of course not," said Rebecca. "Is that the real issue?"

"No," said Louisa. "The real issue is letting a stranger into my mind, where they could do anything they want. Make me think I'm riding into heaven when I'm actually riding into hell."

"He won't do that," said Rebecca. "I'll make him promise."

"Good," said Louisa, relaxing now that Rebecca had spoken with her. "Then I guess I'll go back. I like having an idea of my future."

"That's the spirit," said Rebecca, smiling. "Want me to take you over there now?"

"No, I think I'll wait," said Louisa. "At least until tomorrow. I did kind of flee the place crying."

"Alright, well, the Bangalow is currently unoccupied," said Rebecca. "So you can go over there and calm down if you want. Evergray might make you tea."

"If it's Pandorian tea, I want no part in it," said Louisa as she turned Goldie to follow Rebecca and Midnightwarrior back to the Bangalow.

The next day, as promised, Louisa headed up to Nilmer's while she was training Sunbrother, wanting to try the little pony out on the new butterfly polebending track.

"The flighty dove returns," said Ydris, seeing Louisa ride Sunbrother out of the trailer.

"Rebecca convinced me to give you a chance," said Louisa, dismounting and walking over to the little fortune teller's tent. "But if you make me see shit, I'm leaving."

"Fair enough," said Ydris, following her inside. It did feel different in here, though it wasn't entirely because of all of the candles and whatnot. It felt a little like Pandoria, the familiar tingling feeling making Louisa shiver.

"I asked for a mysterious fortune last time and that freaked me out," said Louisa once Ydris had sat down and started shuffling the cards. Not that he used them. "Maybe the other one would be better?"

"Ah, the horse fortune?" asked Ydris, laying the cards down. "How curious. Are you, perhaps, looking to expand your stables even more?"

"No, I just want to avoid your fingers in my mind," said Louisa, folding her arms in front of her chest. Ydris pouted at her for a moment, which would have made any other person melt. But not Louisa.

"You are a cruel dove," said Ydris. "But fair enough." He waved his hand over the pink crystal ball (which Louisa was certain was made of Pandorian crystal), his fingers waving about in the air and making curious patterns. The atmosphere in the tent changed, becoming almost painful as the Pandorian magic grew stronger. But then, just as soon as it had happened, the power dropped again, leaving Louisa feeling shivery.

"Well?" said Louisa, rubbing her arms. "What do the spirits say, Welwick?"

"What?" Ydris frowned at her, and Louisa had to laugh at catching him off-guard.

"Never mind," said Louisa.

"Admit it- you've been coveting a flaxen Oldenburg in the hope that it will bring you good health. What you really seek is fulfillment and it is closer than you know! You could have it today by saddling up your trusty friend Goldmist and going on a ride someplace new," said Ydris.

"Well, that first part made no sense, there's no flaxen Oldenburgs on Jorvik," said Louisa. "I should know, I have all of them. And as for the second part... I'd love to, but I'm training Sunbrother today. And there's nowhere on Jorvik that I haven't explored yet."

"Ignore me, then," said Ydris, shrugging. "It's your fate. I do advise riding Goldmist today, though."

"Why?" asked Louisa, looking at Ydris as she rose from her seat.

"Just a feeling," said Ydris.

"Well, tough," said Louisa. "I need to train Sunbrother." As she left the tent, she didn't see Ydris gazing after her in concern.

After doing some races with a few kids on the Highland who wanted to race, Louisa left, continuing on her training route. And it was fine, everything was normal. Sure, she did feel a little concerned about Ydris' warning, but it was just a normal day. The sky was as clear and beautiful as ever, the breeze was nice, the weather was just overall fantastic. And Louisa's phone was full of messages from various Jorvegians who wanted her to work for them or try out race courses. Even better, her shillings pouch was a little extra full with her earnings from getting best scores of the day yesterday.

But then, as she raced along the track in South Mistfall Forest, Sunbrother's hoof clipped a root as they leaped over it. Usually, he'd just come to a sliding stop after an injury like that, or just slow down while Louisa's Star Circle healing powers went to work. But this time, he tumbled to his knees, Louisa sliding off his chubby body and onto the ground. But it wasn't the ground of Mistfall that she touched.

"Ydris?" said Louisa, getting to her feet, trembling. "What was that about?"

"I was merely concerned about your health," said Ydris. Louisa frowned as she dusted herself off.

"Well, don't," said Louisa. "I'll be fine, you're worrying over nothing."

"Alright," said Ydris, though he didn't sound sure. Louisa felt something lift off of her, like a weight lifting from her shoulders, and had to resist the urge to growl at him.

"I told you, no magic!" Louisa snapped as she climbed into Sunbrother's saddle. "I knew I couldn't trust you." She didn't see Ydris' hurt expression as she rode away, too intent on getting back to Alonso and explaining what had happened.

Fortunately, the rest of Louisa's training session went pretty smoothly. Even the tricky Firgrove tracks didn't give her any trouble for once. But, as she made her way up the Firgrove mountain pass, heading for the apocalypse pole bending track, she felt a chill come over her. Sunbrother gave a whinny, rearing up and throwing her off.

"Sunbrother!" Louisa called, scrambling to her feet and running after him. She felt watched, her skin prickling, her heart racing. But, before it could become a full-blown panic attack, Louisa caught up with her pony, standing on the crest just before the path dipped down to the pole bending track.

The pole bending track, however, wasn't much better. Sunbrother was trembling from the phantom pricks of non-existent barbed wire, kicking his hooves up more than usual as they made their way down the mountain.

"Is that horse okay?" asked Mr Andersson.

"Sure," said Louisa, trying to soothe Sunbrother through their mental bond. "He's just a little antsy, that pole bending race up in the mountains can be scary."

"Ooh, I'll say," said Mr Andersson. "I've heard about it, but I daren't ride it myself. Too scary for the likes of me."

"It is scary," said Louisa. "Of course, I do it every day so I'm more used to it now, but every new horse has a bit of a freak-out over it."

"Understandable," said Mr Andersson, nodding. "You take care of that horse now, though, he looks special."

"Yeah, he is," said Louisa, petting Sunbrother's neck. He was the brother of Concorde, or at least, this most recent reincarnation of Concorde. Of course he was special.

The Valedale races were, refreshingly, just as unexciting as the Valedale Lake race. Steve's race, too, was fine, though Sunbrother did spook slightly at the tractor.

"Don't worry, it still gets me too sometimes," Louisa cooed to Sunbrother, patting his neck after he'd come to a stop. He continued walking once she'd sent him more soothing vibes.

When they touched down in Dino Valley, though, Louisa was struck with a sense of impending doom. Now, it was her that didn't want to move.

"Louisa, are you alright?" Nic called from his spot by the fire.

"Fine!" Louisa called back, snapped out of her terror by Nic's voice. She managed to shake it off, starting Sunbrother down into the snowy wilderness.

Louisa felt like she was on tenterhooks as she finished up that race and rode Marley's two races. The sight of Mrs Cloudmill still taking part in riding lessons helped a lot, though. If Mrs Cloudmill was okay, she could be okay too. It would be fine. Everything was fine, it was just another stupid panic attack brought on by what Ydris had done. And what Katja had done.

"It's fine, it's fine, it'll be fine," Louisa murmured as she rode Sunbrother into the gondola lift. And yet, every clack of the mechanism sent another bolt of terror through her. Sunbrother was tossing his head as they stepped out up in the mountains, and Louisa had to take a moment to calm herself down. Maybe this was what Ydris had meant by needing to take Goldmist. All she wanted to do was go home and play Dewdrop Dell, it'd calm her down. Surely.

"Allo, Louisa, and a new horse!" said Mario.

"Yep, I raised him from a foal," said Louisa, giving Sunbrother's neck a pat. "And now, he's finally ready to hit the tracks."

"Excellent!" said Mario. "It is always a good thing to see new horses on the island. Hopefully, you two will do fine on my race."

"I hope so," said Louisa, grinning at him. But as she rode off, she couldn't help but feel like she was being chased.

The race went fine, really. Not even any trip-ups. But then, as Louisa rounded the bend near the observatory bridge on her way back up, she heard her heart in her ears. Oh no. This wasn't good. Sunbrother flew over the jump, landing uneasily on the bridge. Louisa heard a crack, then gasped as she tumbled off Sunbrother and found herself staring through a jagged hole.

Far, far down below, a pinkish-purple mist blotted out the bottom of the ravine. Louisa could only stare, horrified, as purple-scaled tentacles rose up out of the depths, writhing and waving around and reaching for her-

Louisa screamed, shuffling backwards, unmindful of the bridge as it swayed and cracked beneath her. Her hand went through a rotting board, and she almost followed it. But, just as she started to fall, she heard the crack of teleportation and a pair of hands was hauling her to her feet.

"Flighty dove!" Ydris cried, trying to look into her eyes.

"Get away!" Louisa screamed at him, pushing at his chest and running off the bridge. Somehow, her feet didn't slip, and she managed to reach solid ground without falling into those depths. As Sunbrother reached her, she threw her arms around his neck and cried into his mane.

"Flighty dove, please, return to the tent with me, you will be safe there," said Ydris.

"No!" Louisa yelled, her shoulders shaking with sobs as she clung to her little pony. "You cursed me!" Ydris stepped back, hurt by her accusation.

Maybe it had been too much. Maybe all of the flirting, all of the unwanted advances, had soured their relationship too much. Maybe it was too late for Ydris to be able to befriend her. Maybe his love of power had blinded him to how much damage he had been doing. Truly, he had been the fool. And now, it was too late. Dark Core was going after Louisa, and there was nothing that he could do to protect her.


End file.
